Hard To Get
by Tumbleinthewind
Summary: A cat & mouse game - Lizzie plays hard to get and Red loves the chase! This is a Lizzington fic so you know where this will be heading. This is all about the thrill of the chase but later chapters will eventually be rated M. I do not own The Blacklist or any characters, nor do I profit from this story. Reviews & feedback are very welcome! Thanks for reading :)
1. Chapter 1

The piercing sound of the alarm clock shot through Lizzie's ears, signalling the start of her morning routine. After ten minutes of relentless snoozing, she had managed to drag herself out of bed and had heaved her sluggish body across her small motel room towards the bathroom. A further ten minutes later and she was dressed and pulling on her running trainers in preparation for her morning run.

It had been another late night of trawling through case files and catching up on her admin, yet despite feeling painfully exhausted, this ritual carried great significance and without it she'd fall apart. It had been 8months since Tom had left her lying on their kitchen floor with a swollen lip and a broken heart. Dry, blood shot eyes, aching limbs and callouses on her feet were a small price to pay for the opportunity of solace that this moment gave her. As glad as she was to be rid of him, this time helped her to forget everything that had happened and is still happening in her overly complicated life. She inserted her headphones into the audio jack on her phone, selected her running playlist and stepped out onto her doorstep.

After taking a large gulp of air, Lizzie took the first stride towards the end of her street. It wasn't long before the beat from her music was pumping through her veins and sending her into a familiar trance. With each passing step she could feel her inner strength emerging, pushing away the flurry of thoughts clogging her mind and a welcoming sensation of euphoric creeping in. It was during this time that her mind would so often wander to a familiar face, Raymond Reddington. He had become the bane of her existence and one of the many complications that she was trying to escape, but it was within the privacy of her own thoughts that she'd allow herself to admit that she enjoyed his company. She'd noticed his many lingering looks in her direction and his subtle touches across her lower back and arm, and it was within her thoughts that she could accept she liked the way it made her feel. To be wanted, to be lusted after. She often wondered how it would feel to fully surrender herself to a man like Raymond Reddington and to let him have what he so obviously desired. The thought alone sent a bolt of excitement through her body and reignited the dull ache that so desperately needed to be worked. So far she had resisted his advances, instead enjoying the feeling of being chased, but it had been so long since she had been with a man that had treated her like a queen under the covers, that she had forgotten what real pleasure felt like. Her mind drifted to the last time she had been with Tom after they had renewed their wedding vows and how dirty it had made her feel. As these memories resurfaced, Lizzie could feel her inner-strength retreating and her breathing increasing. Almost instantly, like Tom's crushing blow to her head came the return of the very thoughts she had so longed to escape. How could she have been so easily taken in by him, so naïve? He had humiliated her.

Desperate to forget she forced her eyes shut, anxious to regain control of herself and her breathing. She could feel the lactic acid building in her starved muscles, brought on from her frantic and shallow intakes of oxygen. The warm burn in her hamstrings felt somewhat pleasurable but the prodding pain in her side was too much to bear and defeated she slowed to a walk and eventually to a stop. Bent over in agony she inhaled deeply before whipping her headphones from her ears. Her skin felt like it was crawling and the familiar onset of a headache was approaching. Eager to cleanse herself of all thoughts of Tom, she turned back towards her home in anticipation of a shower. If she was lucky, she could continue her earlier more pleasant thoughts in the shower, before heading off to work.


	2. Chapter 2

"Agent Keen" was the first thing Lizzie heard as she walked out of the elevator into the Post Office. She noticed Cooper standing outside his office looking over the balcony at her. "Come to my office please". It was Friday and whereas most companies would be enjoying the wind down towards the weekend, the assertiveness in Cooper's tone suggested that she would be doing anything but. Lizzie climbed the stairs to his office and headed towards his door. After stepping inside she sat in the empty chair opposite him. She greeted him with a respectful "Sir" and a smile and waited for him to speak.

"Agent Keen, I have been briefed by Reddington about a new Blacklister known as; Mr X. He is responsible for over half of the most complex and highest profile thefts of gold bullion in the last decade, including the most recent theft from a federal reserve that is estimated to have been worth over $50 million in gold bars. It's understood that he sells the gold on to the highest bidder, who have frequently used it to fund terrorism and human trafficking. It's thought he buries the gold in a secure area of his choice and then leaves the details of its location along with his calling card for his recipient to find. His trademark is simply, 'X Marks the Spot' giving him the name of Mr X". Cooper continued, "Reddington called me this morning, apparently Mr X is in town. You will be accompanying Reddington to a private party tonight, where a source close to him has indicated that Mr X is expected to attend. If he has resurfaced, then it's likely he is planning to meet with a prospective bidder." Lizzie nodded along with Cooper, trying to give the impression of listening intently, but if she was honest she was still reeling at the fact Reddington hadn't come to her first with this information. "An associate of Reddington's will be at the party. If Mr X is there, he will make it known to you. Your task is to identify the potential bidder, gain their attention and then cause a scene, so that Reddington can make contact with Mr X and propose a bid for the gold himself". Accepting the task, Lizzie went on to ask Cooper about her cover story. He responded, "You're an arts dealer called Jennifer Crawford. You're in town on business and accompanying Reddington as his date for the evening." Lizzie felt her mouth drop, "Wait, what? I'm his date?" Lizzie hoped she was hiding the blush growing across her cheeks better than she had hid her gasp at 'date'. "Oh Lizzie, is the thought really that bad?" Red asked as he walked into Cooper's office. He took off his signature fedora and took a seat next to Lizzie. "You might even enjoy yourself," he said with a smug grin. Lizzie shot him a glare before protesting, "Why exactly do I need to be your date?". Detecting her seriousness Red replied, "Quite simply because I do not go to these types of events without a beautiful woman on my arm." Lizzie was definitely not hiding her blushes now and she could tell that Red had noticed too. Looking mildly amused he continued, "A few years ago I made the mistake of going to a party without a plus one. It was far too much business and no play. That was until I met Nancy…" Lizzie cut him off before he could continue, "That's no reason for me…". "Elizabeth" Red said cutting her off. "I have a particular persona to maintain. I'm known for being a ladies' man and therefore need to attend events as such. May I remind you of the seriousness of this. I have it under good authority that the recipient of My X's previous theft, went on to fund a mass terrorist incident that was so enormous in its casualties that I'll spare you the grotesque details. Not only does he need to be stopped Lizzie, but the recipients of his, who have no consideration for human life or for the horrors their actions cause, need to be stopped too." Accepting the seriousness of the occasion, Lizzie nodded and accepted the cover story. Red stood from his chair, put his hat on and walked to Cooper's door before turning and saying, "I've had an appropriate dress delivered to your motel room. I'll pick you up at seven." Lizzie opened her mouth to speak but he turned on his foot and left the room. A few seconds later he peered around the door, his earlier smugness returning, "Oh and you'll need an overnight bag". He was long gone before Lizzie could protest, but the mixed feeling of shock, anticipation, nerves and excitement stayed with her long after.


	3. Chapter 3

Walking towards their hotel room Lizzie whispered to Red, "How very presumptuous of you to book a single room with the one bed". She had just spent the last ten minutes with the reception desk, failing miserably at getting a separate room. "You're undercover as Raymond Reddington's date - why would you have expected anything else?" addressing her question as they made their way down the hall.

The whole evening had been a failure. Red's contact did not get a positive ID on Mr X, making the evening a complete waste of time. Identifying their correct room, Red pulled the room key out of his pocket. Before unlocking the door, he turned to Lizzie and noticing her agitated state, he asked, "What are you frightened of?"

If she was honest with herself, she wasn't sure. Perhaps it was the thought of being alone with the Concierge of Crime, a criminal, a dangerous man, within the same room and under the same covers? Or could it be that she was scared of the part of herself who wanted to be? As if reading her racing thoughts, Red took a step closer to Lizzie and dropped his voice to its lowest octave range, "Why fight this Lizzie?". She felt her body respond instantly to the tone of his voice sending a crippling wave of arousal to her lower stomach that threatened to creep down further. She couldn't look away if she wanted to, it felt like his eyes, dark with desire, were burning into hers but she wasn't ready to let him have his way just yet. Eager to regain her composure and control of the situation, she took a deep breath and through an exhaled laugh responded, "I'm intrigued to know how exactly you've come to the assumption that I'm fighting anything.".

Taking another step closer to Lizzie who was now only an arm's length away, Red raised an eyebrow and smiled, "It's surprising how much one's body language can tell another" shortening the distance even further he continued, "It can give away your deepest darkest desires without a single word spoken. The simplest of gestures, signs and movements can reveal all of your secrets." Lizzie's breathing had slowed to almost a stop. She could feel Red's warm breath across her face leaving her skin on fire wherever it struck. Red dropped his eyes to her hands and reaching out he slowly grazed his fingers up to her shoulders until they came to rest on the balls of her shoulders. She was now conveniently trapped between Red and the door. Regaining eye contact he smiled, "You can try and hide them from me Lizzie, but your body is speaking volumes to me." Removing the distance between them he pressed his body into her, leaving her with no doubt of his arousal. On hearing a moan escape her lips he nuzzled his nose into her neck and trailed light kisses up to her ear. Through a low growl he whispered into her ear, "Go toe to toe with me Lizzie. Tell me I'm wrong".

The pool of excitement Lizzie felt in her underwear told her that she was on the verge of losing all control. Noting the absence of one of his hands and the sound of the door unlocking behind her, she did the only thing available to her.

The loud alarm crying through their ears brought Red back with a shock. Following the direction of Lizzie's hand he saw it resting on the fire alarm, located on the wall next to their door. Red let out a frustrated groan and shook his head at Lizzie with a smile. Guests began to vacate their rooms and make their way down the hall. Lizzie returned the smile before following them. Catching up and taking Lizzie's arm, Red leant towards her ear, "You know I always get what I want Lizzie".


End file.
